eBay extravaganza

For a good long while now I have been wanted to upgrade my old Canon Rebel. It's been a great camera, but as I have learned more how to use it I have also learned its limitations.

I decided I was going to work for it the hard way, so I started an envelope of cash and slowly started saving. I got about halfway with a few odd design jobs. To earn the rest, I decided to start selling a few odds and ends that were taking up space in our storage room.

Here are a few things I sold and how much I got for them:

Two Pottery Barn quilts: Let's face it. These aren't cheap. But I got lots of good use out of them, and then was still able to sell them for a decent amount! I'm pretty sure I bought Abby's on sale. It went to someone in Sweden. The other one graced our guest bed while we were in Utah and was in great shape.

Our old Sony Handycam: Well, this wasn't a cheap camera when we bought it. So it kind of hurts to think about how much we wasted. We didn't use it much. But it certainly wouldn't be worth anything sitting in a cupboard gathering dust! My new camera will have video built in and I know it will get used so much more that way. Who wants to carry two cameras?

Smith Corona Typewriter: Nobody wants these. And some things are hardly worth the effort to sell. I should have donated it to our retirement community instead.

IBM (First model!) and manuals: Now this was a surprise. We could have thought same as above, "nobody wants these". But its been around long enough to be collectable. Both the computer and manuals are going to someone in Belgium that seems like he will appreciate them very much. Score for me, score for him.

Eames shell chairs: You might remember when I bought these chairs off of Craig's List. I wrote about it here. Well, I decided I only wanted to keep 2 of the 4 chairs I purchased. The money I made from these 2 chairs easily covered the total amount of money we spent in that storage unit that day!

I have had my sights set on the Canon 60D for some time, along with the Canon 580 flash. I easily have enough money to buy it now. But I'm wavering. I did better than I expected on the eBay stuff, so now I am wondering if I should reach a little higher (okay, a LOT higher) and go for the full sensor Canon 5D. (Choke.) I would have to save a little bit longer. I'm almost there, but not quite. (I still have my old Rebel to sell (after I buy my new camera) and an old Kirby vacuum cleaner.) And I wanted to buy that flash, too, which would improve my photos immensely. If I stick with the 60D I can get the camera, extra battery, the flash, and still have money left over to buy a new vacuum cleaner. (I love my Dyson but it has seen better days. And with my pets and all this carpet, well, let's just leave it at that.)  What would you do?

Enough rambling. Have you had any great selling experiences lately? You all know I love a good Craig's List find. Now I am equally as hooked on selling what I don't need. I'm all for making donations too, but if it is worth something, I love to put the money to better use on something I really want.

back to school

The blogosphere is buzzing about back to school and I must to my part. Here are the girls, excited and ready for their first day. They woke themselves up at 6 AM this morning and were ready by 6:30, even though we don't have to leave our house until 7:20. 

Aw, don't they look cute? School shopping was a bit of a challenge to fit in this year but we had time for a couple of new outfits. I tried not to interfere with their choices but smiled a little when Sarah chose her cowboy boots. Abby has new cowboy boots too and is looking forward to getting a few western outfits to go with them. Oh boy.

And this is my little Kindergartner. (Only don't call her "little" to her face. She is a BIG girl now.)

Kindergarten is serious stuff here. All day, every day. She seemed very unruffled and not at all nervous.

She even gets to ride the bus with her big sister now. It would have been WAY to embarrassing to pose for a photo by the bus, so I had to sneak this one on the fly.

We took this next picture in front of the combine to show that we are still harvesting. Most years these machines are parked away before school starts. Not this year—we still have at least a week left!

The girls have their first soccer practice tomorrow night. I'm not sure if we are quite ready for summer to be over and for our lives to be structured again, but ready or not, here we go! Happy back to school, everyone!

state fair

Here is our State Fair experience, Hipstamatic style:

(Uh-oh. Two Hipstamatic posts in a row. Perhaps I should get my real camera out once in a while?)

Grandpa and Grandma took Eva for a few hours so we were able to spend most of our time watching the girls enjoy the rides without worrying about keeping a baby happy. All the while the Blue Angels were flying overhead and I wondered if we shouldn't have instead spent Tom's limited time off work at the Air Show. But he said he'd rather do what made the girls happy. Such a nice daddy. After they had their fill of the rides we stopped at the petting zoo with a porcupine (yes, really), then we all starred in a play about Farm Animals traveling through time on an airplane. All because they had a mister at that tent. It was a very hot, sticky day. Made stickier after the cotton candy.

Eva—14 months old

Last week Eva passed the 14 month mark. Here are 9 little pictures and 9 things about Eva at this age:

1. What a blossoming little personality she has. If you're lucky you'll receive a toothy grin and squinty little eyes. If you aren't so lucky, you might get the evil eye (or Eva eye, as Tom calls it).

2. Speaking of toothy grins, she still only has 4 little teeth in there. A late bloomer in the tooth department.

3. And speaking of late blooming, well, I'm trying not worry too much about the fact that she hasn't started walking yet. She just loves to crawl too much. When you try to hold her hands and walk her, she protests and fights to get down on her knees.

4. And speaking of knees (how far do you think I can take this segue?—enough of that), hers are red and raw from crawling so much on the wool carpet. She crawls around this house a mile a minute and explores every cupboard and closet.

5. She is going to be a musical little one. She loves to sit at the piano and play. Sometimes she lets me play along with her (as long as I don't interfere and keep my hands way in the lower and upper registers) and sometimes she adamantly removes my hands so she can play alone. After a while she closes the lid on my hands. Done. Sunday morning she holds the hymn book right up to her nose and sings along.

6. As of yesterday, we are done with nursing. I suppose it is as hard on momma to let it go as her, but it is time, and she finally has taken to a sippy cup. When she was slow to take to cow's milk, we started giving her vanilla almond milk instead. As she took to that, we slowly mixed in cow's milk until the almond milk is now just like a shot of sweet creamer.

7. Eva will eat just about anything. But when she doesn't want to eat it she lets you know by dropping it piece by piece on the floor.

8. She is sleeping consistently through the night from about 9:30 to 6:45. Sometimes (Saturday, for instance) I wish she would let me sleep in a little, but most of the time it is a perfect time to get up and start breakfast for everyone. It should work right into the school schedule when we start in just over a week. (Ack!)

9. We love and treasure her so so much. That's all.

new stair railing

I was going to wait to show you this after we finished all the trim, caulking, and painting, but that could be awhile and I just couldn't wait. 

We have a new basement stair railing!

We couldn't be happier with how it finishes everything off. And we are relieved to have the safety factor resolved of course. The look is clean and modern and perfect, just like I wanted.

The railing was built by my dad's cousin, of Specialty Iron Works in Great Falls. They do great work! My hope is to eventually do the same railing outdoors on our porch, which is in desperate need of an upgrade. I think this style is perfect for our house. (Photo below from after our roof was replaced.)

So do you dig it?

finding our groove

Whoosh. It's been a week. 

This is the arsenal that sits on my kitchen counter right now:

Yes, two of my girls have been sick. (Fortunately not the baby.) They came down with a scary case of strep last Wednesday. Scary because even a cycle of Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen couldn't keep their fevers down for long. We were at the doctor's office 3 times in 4 days and on the phone several times in between, mostly because of some odd reactions from Abby. She has been getting hives from her medication (presumably?). We changed the medication, but the hives continued, even though both drugs were ones she had taken before with no problems. Nevertheless, the outlook is improving and the girls are back to tearing the house down.

I like to keep a positive attitude about things, but even I have to admit it has been difficult to get into the groove of things this harvest season. Having sick kids has made it hard to focus on anything else, of course. But then there was Dad's 10 stitches in his knee (from slipping in a grain tank onto an auger), Mom's broken dishwasher (never a good thing during harvest), Mom's broken toes, and a long string of broken down farm equipment (more than usual it seems). All this leaves me wondering if we are going to find our groove before harvest is over. 

But we must, because we need lots of stamina to get through the harvest season. The guys start early and don't come home to bed until the wee hours. Dinners have been at home thus far, but now that kids are feeling better I expect we will start taking dinner out the field to keep down time to a minimum. And maybe I'll even get to put in a few hours on the combine. Nothing like cutting wheat to put you in the harvest mood!

More updates to come...

Pinterest challenge—clipboards

Well hello, Tuesday. What happened to your friend Monday? And WHAT DID YOU DO WITH JULY, for that matter? 

It is harvest time here. That means life is flying by with all kinds of business. I must get off the computer as it is my day to cook harvest dinner for the crew and get this house of ours shipped into shape.

But first, have you seen the Pinterest Challenge?

It seems like a great excuse to try out some of those fun back-burner projects. If you follow me on Pinterest, you might have seen this pin, originally from Martha Stewart:

I actually purchased some clip boards ages ago to use in my craft room downstairs, and this challenge was the perfect excuse to drag them out and put them to use. 

I used my clipboards to make an art gallery wall for my kids. We always have artwork laying around the house, each one special in its own right. I love to showcase their art, but I don't love it when they tape it to the walls. So this idea was born.

I left my clipboards unadorned to let their artwork be the star. I did order custom vinyl lettering from Uppercase Living, however, and I love the modern clean look.

And when its time to change out the artwork, I can simply snap a picture of the wall to preserve it forever—kind of like this:

A collection of these photos could make a darling photo book, don't you think?

Join me next Tuesday for another Pinterest Challenge project. I already have one in mind! 

Craig's List find—claw foot tub

I have been thinking for awhile that I would like a claw foot tub in this bathroom:

The brown fixtures are cool-retro and all, but they have years of hard water deposits on them and don't fit the aesthetic I hope for in this room. So I started to search Craig's List. We have no immediate plans to start on this room, but I figured it might take awhile to find the perfect tub. Surprisingly, tubs popped up for sale more often than I expected, but most of them weren't in the best condition and would need to be reglazed.

A phone call to a professional revealed a whopping $795 price tag for reglazing a claw foot tub. Considering they go for at least $2000 brand new, that might not be so bad. But considering the finish is only guaranteed to last 10-15 years, I was sadly beginning to feel this option might not be for me.

And then I found a listing for a tub that looked like it might work with its original finish. I called to set up a visit. And here is where it turned into one of those situations that felt like it was "meant to be". I talked to the guy to ask a few questions and told him I would call back when I had an opportunity to bring my husband in to look at it. (I don't like to look at Craig List finds alone. Never mind the fact that I would never be able to load a claw foot tub by myself.) The next day it rained (yes!) freeing up Tom to go with me, so I called him back and got his voice mail. When I heard his first and last name on his voice message, it clicked. I knew these people! It happened to be my brother-in-law's sister and husband. 

Long story short, we brought home the tub, and even got a good "friends" discount out of the deal. This is what it looks like:

 

It definitely needs a little TLC. The outside needs sanded and painted—I'm thinking a charcoal gray. I will paint the feet oil-rubbed bronze (or white?). The tub was built in, so their is caulking and paint along the top edges that needs to be scraped off. And the inside just needs a good scrubbing. There is a bit of yellowing around the drain, but overall the inside looks great. There are a few chips in the enamel, but only around the edge of the rim. We will either live with the imperfections or try a little enamel patch kit since it isn't on the interior of the tub.  

The second part of this equation is now I want to find an old dresser to retrofit for the vanity. I have shown you this inspiration photo before:

Source unknown.

I love the mid century vibe of this desk/credenza and I think something like this would be very appropriate for this house.

However, yesterday this popped on on Craig's List:

This seems like a pretty legit antique to me. I love that it is meant for bathroom duties, complete with spot for a wash basin, towel bar, and "potty cupboard".

Of course I haven't seen this in person so I have no idea if it would work for what I need. They are asking $300 for it. So, help me out. What do you think? Do you like the antique or should I hold out for a vintage mid century cabinet?

the toad

The other day after a rain shower, Tom found this little baby toad and brought it to the house to share with the girls. They fawned over it and begged to keep it, so we made a little makeshift aquarium that the girls filled with grass and leaves. "We'll name her Taylor, because it works for a boy or a girl!", they said.

The girls obsessed over Miss or Mr. Toad (sorry, I just can't bring myself to call a toad Taylor) for a couple of days, but alas, they couldn't get it to eat any of the crickets, grasshoppers, or ants they found. In fact, once they found the little cricket perched right on top of toad's head. 

It took some convincing, but finally we talked the girl's into letting it go since it very likely wasn't going to survive in captivity. We promised she would be happier with her mom and dad in the big wide world. They bravely set her on the sidewalk outside and watched her hop around. But when Daddy came to take her away and put her back where he found her, the tears and trauma began. Abby couldn't sleep alone in the basement that night because she couldn't stop thinking about her beloved Taylor.

So, imagine their delight when a few nights later we found this little gal in front of our garage!

And not just that, 2 more BIG toads! (Mom and Dad?) I chased one under the deck for a photo:

Finally the girls believed us. She was much happier with her Mom and Dad! Chalk it up to a great learning experience for the girls.

Christian brought one of the big ones inside for a visit (and a little freak-out session by your's truly). 

Christian is a great friend who came all the way from San Diego on his bike to visit us for a night. O.K. Not just us. But we were still very glad to see him. And we are glad we got to share him with our little toad friends.

Zoe the cat—update

This is our cat Zoe. I introduced you to her before, shortly after she came to live with us. 

Zoe has now taken over the house. And we let her because she does her job VERY well. She catches mice and leaves them on our porch for us daily.

We try not to mind when she leaves her gifts inside the house. Or when she poops in the planter (yes, it happened once.) Or when she sleeps on the counter. Or when she takes over the dog bed and makes Mia find a new bed in the corner of the kitchen.

What I do mind is when she sharpens her claws on my new basement carpet. We have a few snags to prove the indiscretion, unfortunately. Short of declawing her (why would I do that to a fabulous mouser?), how do I get her to stop doing this? I bought a scratching post and some catnip, but so far all she wants to do is nuzzle up to it and roll in the catnip smell. Help!

healthy competition?

My Sarah is extremely competitive as she tries to keep up with her older sister. Three years separate them so it is often a difficult task.

The other morning Sarah came into my room with Ruthie (her American Girl Doll). She had combed her hair into a simple but cute double pony tail. "Look Mom! Look what I did! Doesn't it look great?"  I replied, "Yes, Sarah, you did an awesome job!"

Later that morning, Abby came upstairs with her doll, Julie, to show me a French Twist up-do she had styled. I said "Wow, Abby, that looks great!" Sarah, witnessing the event, ran to get her own doll and said, "Mom, which one do you like better? It's okay, you can tell us."

Ha ha. Trapped.

"I don't play that game", I said. "Sarah, your doll's hair looks so awesome for a 5-year-old. Abby's doll's hair looks beautiful for an 8-year-old."

Sarah replied. "Uhhh", (stomping her feet in a classic Sarah move). "Abby's is beautiful? No fair!!!!"

I can't win.

Feng Shui Friday—Add pink to enhance your love life

To find out how you can join the Feng Shui Friday challenge, click here.

 Challenge #26: Add pink to enhance your love life

Number 26 in the book 27 Things To Feng Shui Your Home (as promised I'm not going in order!) suggests adding pink to the "Love and Relationships" corner of your home.

How do you find the Love and Relationships corner? I'm glad you asked. Stand at your front door and imagine your house divided into a grid of 9 squares. The upper right corner is the Love and Relationship corner (according to what is called a Bagua Map.)

Step 1: Declutter this area and make sure it is a comfortable place to be.

Step 2: Add some pink. I'm not saying you have to paint your walls pink. This can be subtle, such as adding some artwork with a touch of pink, or even a peice of pink paper tucked into a drawer.

Feng Shui My Way:

In my house the Love and Relationships corner is the Master bedroom. How appropriate—huzzah!

 In a house with 6 girls (if you count the pets), there is no shortage of pink. But this is what I like to do. Occasionally, when I'm shopping at Sam's Club (or Costco), I like to pick up their big, inexpensive bundles of flowers. Next time, make them pink! Bring them home and separate them into smaller vases so you can enjoy them throughout your home. Especially in the "love" area of your house if you so desire.

 So, does it work? Ahem.... that's for me know and for you to find out. Happy Friday!

the ultimate before picture

Aerial photographers periodically come by to sell their photographs to area farmers. We have a few photos of this house through the years and it is fun to look back and see how it has changed.

Last summer we were approached by one such photographer with some new photos for sale. The date the photographs were taken was June 28, 2010. Which happened to be our very first day in this house here on the farm.

If we were to have a new picture taken one year later, we would already see a few changes. For one, we parked some of the equipment away. (Who am I kidding? On busy summer days like this there is still a miscellany of equipment scattered around.) For another, we have a new roof. And a new swing set.

Some day it will be so fun to look back on this ultimate before photo of the very first day we lived in this house, and see how much it has changed. 

the stain treatment

Sarah absolutely loves to dress up in her nicest dresses and shoes, even if it is to go outside and play in the mud. I am constantly yelling at her from the front door to "please go inside and put some play clothes on!" 

One day Tom caught her in a lovely white dress playing on the back of his dirty truck. She quipped, "It's okay! We can get Oxy-clean!" Indeed.

On another occasion she spilled hot-chocolate all they way down a white dress she had pulled out the hand-me-down pile and was wearing for the first time. She was devastated. I reassured her and said, "I'll try soaking it in Oxy-clean". Her eyes brightened as she said "You have Oxy-clean? Great! It drives the tough stains out."

And its a darn good thing.

(Not a paid advertisement.)

can they take it?

Early last summer when we first moved to the farm, we spotted a gopher in our front yard. Gophers around here are big pests. They dig holes in yards and fields and eat our crops. They are prolific. And we shoot them as much as possible. I wasn't sure how the girls would react to this. Could they handle it? 

I called the girls to the window to show them the gopher. "Awwww, how adorable!", they sang. Then, without missing a beat, "Kill it, Daddy! Kill it!"

I think they can take it.

In fact, this summer Abby worked hard to save her money and buy a bee bee/pellet gun. A pink one no less.

And she has already killed a few gophers. That's my girl.

Feng Shui Friday—entry organization

To find out how you can join the Feng Shui Friday challenge, click here.

My entry way is a problem area. I'm sure I am not alone. Especially in households with more than two members. The backpacks, coats, and shoes coming in and library books, garbage, and mail going out barely scratch the surface of the problem that is called Stuff That Lives At My Front Door.

I have a long term plan for my entry area the involves removing a couple of closets and adding a bench and hooks (a landing strip/mud room of sorts), but I needed a shorter term solution to save my sanity.

Enter an inexpensive hook rack from Target, an unsused Ikea side table that was on it's way to the thrift store, and a wire basket.

It is too small to be perfect, but it helps tremendously and gives me confidence that my long term plan is the right one.

The hooks provide an easy-to-reach place for my kids to hang their jackets. The table holds purses, diaper bags, etc. for guests or myself. The wire basket holds coupons, library books, outgoing mail, bank deposits, etc. Its nothing fancy, but its functional.

In the basement we had a similar problem spot. Once we got the swing set put together, the girls began using the door in the basement to access the lower yard, leaving a pile in their wake. Utilizing a bench from our old entry in Utah, and a Pottery Barn train rack that was a Christmas gift from my Mom a few years back, I was able to create another entry area. 

Right now it contains running-through-sprinkler gear and other summer toys. In the winter it will hold backpacks and winter coats. 

Have you tackled any organizing projects of your own lately? How about entry way organization? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

summer storms

The skies after a storm on the prairie can be magnificent. On fire. 

This beauty followed a fantastic wind storm that knocked out our power for a few hours. Right at dinner time. Dinner was mostly done, except I had misjudged the chicken and it needed another 20 minutes or so in the oven. We ended up firing up the oven in our camper while we ate the rest of our meal. And we had chicken for dessert.

And then my lovely Aunt Marilyn (they stayed with us for a few days while loading a trailer of things from their old place to take back to Oregon) did dishes by lantern light.

Power outages are an adventure. An adventure we prefer not to experience for too long. Especially at dinner time. It is also an adventure to wake up in the middle of the night to a brightly lit house when the power finally decides to come back on!

Mom's birthday

We celebrated Mom's birthday on the 3rd of July. I didn't have any brilliant ideas about what to get her, so we decided to abide by Abby's motto, "the best gift is made with your hands". We took this photo and made a little calendar for her refrigerator. It's actually pretty amazing we got a decent shot considering the persistent mosquitoes, cranky baby, and hyper five-year-old we confronted. Here are a few of our out takes:

The photos (excepting the last) were taking in one of our blooming canola fields. The last one is in a tall field of winter wheat. Some of it swallows Sarah right up.

We let Mom decide how to spend her day and she chose to visit the Ryan Dam on the Mighty Missouri. It is spectacular this year with the the river running high and strong.

There is an island right below the dam that affords spectacular views and a cooling mist that felt incredible on this hot day.

The park on the island was cool and shaded, so we plopped down on the grass and enjoyed some lazy time together talking and doing . . . acrobatics . . .?

Not bad for a couple of old men in their late thirties.

It was a great day. Happy Birthday Mom!

Eva—13 months old

Today marks 13 months for our little Eva Grace. We love her to pieces!

I have found her several times lately hiding out in this little cupboard in Sarah's room. 

A few discernable words: hi, momma (in the middle of the night when she cries for me to get her), uh-oh

No walking yet. When I try to walk her holding her hands she cries and wants down on the floor. She stands holding on to things all the time—sometimes barely hanging on. It will come soon enough. I found the cutest little miniature Keens to buy for her when its time to celebrate the accomplishment...  :)

Her 2 front teeth have made their appearance. No sign of any more yet, but the teething symptoms have been rampant.

She enjoys all sorts of food. Today it was edamame and curry potatoes and chicken. Last week it was plums. But plain jane bananas and graham crackers never fail to please as well.

We used our camp trailer 3 times this last month and each time the first night was torture. She does not like her pack-n-play and does not settle down well when she knows we are all in the same room with her. You know where she does sleep well? Her stroller. I have been known to put her to bed in it all night. The best option is her own bed, however. We've enjoyed two full nights of sleep since we got back from our last trip. (Knock on wood).

reunions

Back to regularly scheduled posting. Didn't realize posting was delayed? Ha—neither did I.

Busy summer days have grabbed us by the hand and have been dragging us along faster than we can manage to keep up with. The posts might come fast and furious the next little while as I catch up with all we've been up to.

I'll commence this reunion with my blog by sharing a few memories of a reunion with the Benjamins that we just returned from this weekend. I let my camera rest most of the short time we were there and didn't capture very many photos. But these are a few things I want to remember:

 

A long line of campers in my cousin's spacious backyard in beautiful Lewistown, Montana.

 

Breakfasts in their red barn. 

Uncle Dale sharing spiritual wisdom and memories of Great Grandpas and Grandmas.

Going on a 2-mile walk with Mom along the Spring Creek and enjoying the sunshine. Perhaps regretting taking the stroller as we drug it through the gravel on the trail that was flood damaged last month.

Lots and lots of second cousins to play with.

Our ever-gracious hosts.

Rides on the lawn-mower train. (Usually there were kids piled high in the cars—I missed the moment.)

Cooking lasagna for 80 people (or so). Having so much leftover that we wouldn't have to cook for a week.

Having my cousin Lori stay with me for a couple of days before-hand and having her awesome help in the kitchen prepping that lasagna.

My kids navigating the challenge of getting acquainted with cousins they don't know at all and making new friendships.

Cousin Kaitlyn giving Sarah a lesson in astronomy.

My awesome new sister-in-law Annie braving the task of meeting an overwhelmingly large family and handling it with grace.

Seeing first cousins we rarely get to see from Texas, Arizona, North Dakota, Idaho, Nebraska, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon—and how impossibly grown up their kids have become. (Missing a couple from California too!)

Swimming in the Lewistown pool and watching the faces of the kids as they pummelled down the water slides over and over again.

Running into my friend Jolene at the pool and catching up.

The guys' favorite activity of flying remote-control aircraft over our heads.

Watching Grandpa's face as we all piled into the garage to say grace for lunch and thinking it could easily be the last time he gets to see that. Wondering how he feels about the legacy he and Grandma created together.